Regression
by Akirafanatic
Summary: I know, and I'll update my others when I get inspiration for them, but this idea refused to go away. For now, here you go.


The members of the science club stared at the still figure on the ground in both horror and fascination for nearly twenty minutes before the president spoke up. "Well, shit." With that, the rest of the club members started panicking. "Shut up!" The president yelled, wincing when the figure started moving.

Everyone stilled as the little figure opened his eyes and tears began welling in them. "No," One of the female members said in a panicky voice, picking up the small child, "No, no, please, don't cry, come on, don't cry. Hush now, come on." She nervously bounced the three year old, but he wouldn't stop crying. The bouncing only seemed to make it worse.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?" One of the first year members repeated over and over as he paced back and forth.

"Everybody calm down!" The president demanded, causing everyone to stop and look at him. "First, we need to do something about him," He gestured to the crying toddler, "Before we can start looking for a way to reverse this." He thought for a few seconds before turning to the girl who was holding the toddler. "Mira, take him to the spirit dorms. I'm sure his brother can take care of him until we find a cure. They're all likely still at practice, so if you hurry nobody will catch you and we can work in peace without having to worry about him. Go!"

Mira nodded and carefully ran with the toddler. She was panicking and nearly hyperventilating as she approached the dorms. She quickly scanned the names on the doors, looking for the correct one. When she found the name she was looking for, Mira fumbled with the knob for a second before she entered and gently placed the toddler on one of the beds. Only when she was sure he was safely on the bed did she run as fast as she could, barely remembering to close the door behind her.

When the regulars finished practice for the day, they took their time walking back to the dorms for a bath. "What happened to Harucchi?" Eijun asked as they walked. "It's not like him to skip practice."

"He was probably on cleanup," Miyuki said lazily.

"Cleanup usually doesn't last that long," Tetsu pointed out helpfully.

"It does when you're on your own," Kuramochi said. "I've had people ditch before, so I know how long it takes." He paused, causing the rest of the regulars who were behind him to pause as well. "What's that?" He asked.

The rest of the regulars stopped and listened. There was a sound of distant crying, coming from the direction of their dorms. Ryousuke frowned. He could swear he'd heard that crying before. It kind of reminded him of-

Without a word of warning, Ryousuke ran toward the sound, the rest of the regulars stared in surprise for a few seconds before following. By the time they reached the correct room, Ryousuke had already scooped up the crying toddler and was rubbing circles on his back, humming slightly.

Practically all the regulars' jaws hit the ground when they caught a glimpse of the now sniffling child. "Is…Is that…" Miyuki started, unable to finish the question.

He didn't need to, as Eijun nearly screamed, "HARUCCHI?!" The loud voice caused new tears to well up in the three year olds eyes and his lip began quivering once more. Ryousuke sat on the bed and glared at the pitcher while he attempted to quiet his now literal baby brother.

"What the fu-"Jun was cut off with a jab to his ribs courtesy of Tetsu.

"Language," Tetsu said calmly, "There's a child present."

Jun growled but asked, "What happened? I know he wasn't a-" This time he cut himself off, clearing his throat before continuing, "A kid earlier."

Ryousuke pulled Haruichi back when the tears stopped and only hiccups remained. "Haruichi," He asked softly, bouncing his brother a little and wiping some of the tears away with his thumb, "Do you know what happened?" The toddler hiccupped and shook his head, clinging tightly to his brother. Ryousuke stroked the child's hair and continued, "Do you know where you are?" Another shake of the head. "Do you know how old you are?" This time he got a nod. "Can you tell me?" Haruichi shook his head again. "Why not?" Haruichi didn't answer, simply shaking his head and clinging tighter.

Ryousuke sighed and looked at the regulars, shaking his head. "He's too afraid to talk right now. I think it's a safe bet that he doesn't remember anything though."

"Now what?" Kuramochi asked, leaning against the door frame. "We have a game tomorrow. I doubt coach will be very happy if we bring a toddler with us."

"We can't just leave Harucchi here!" Eijun protested, keeping his voice at an indoor level so as not to scare his friend again.

"I'll let the coach know what's going on," Ryousuke said, standing up. He shifted the toddler to get a better hold and smiled softly when Haruichi yawned, fisting part of his jersey and resting his head on his shoulder. "After that I think its bath and bed for this little one."

He walked out of the room and toward the coaches' office while the rest of the regulars gathered their things and headed for the bath. Not even twenty minutes later, Ryousuke and Haruichi joined them.

Everyone turned as Ryousuke came in, carrying a sleepy Haruichi. "So what's the verdict?" Miyuki asked as Ryousuke sat on one of the stools, Haruichi on his lap.

"He sent Takashima-sensei out to get some clothes that will fit him," Ryousuke said, dumping a bucket of water over his baby brothers' head. "He said that Haruichi can sit in the dugout during the game and we'll try to figure out what happened and how to reverse it after." Ryousuke frowned as he used a cloth to gently wash his brothers' face. "He also said that if we can't fix it within a week then Haruichi will be dropped from the regulars and I'll have to take him home."

"But Harucchi can't leave!" Eijun exclaimed, standing quickly only to slip and fall back into the water.

"I don't have a choice," Ryousuke said, smiling when Haruichi giggled. "Besides, a week is generous enough as is. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out what happened. It's the reversing process I'm worried about."

It was quiet for a while before Miyuki smiled. "He's actually kind of cute like this," He said, watching the toddler try and catch some of the bubbles, giggling when they popped.

"He's normally so quiet that I sometimes forget he's there," Kuramochi admitted.

Ryousuke smiled and tilted Haruichi's head back before placing one hand over his eyes and carefully rinsing out the shampoo. When he was sure he got it all, he removed the hand covering his eyes and poked the toddlers' stomach, earning a shriek of laughter from the boy. Ryousuke chuckled and continued tickling his brother. Haruichi's laughter was contagious and soon had all the regulars laughing or smiling to some degree.

Ryousuke only stopped when Haruichi started hiccupping, his head bobbing bit with each hiccup. "Go wait in the tub, alright?" Ryousuke asked, lightly pushing his brother toward the tub with the rest of the regulars. Haruichi's smile disappeared the second he set eyes on the others and he quickly shook his head and clung to his brothers' leg. "Haruichi," The older Kominato sighed.

"Come on Harucchi," Eijun said with a smile, holding his arms out. Haruichi shrank away from the pitcher and his bottom lip started quivering.

"Not very social," Miyuki commented, "Even as a child." Eijun started complaining about how 'Harucchi' hated him. He kept up his rant for nearly a minute before he suddenly cut himself off, causing the rest of the regulars to turn to him in confusion.

"Ne," He said, staring at the toddler, "When did Harucchi start growing his bangs out?"

Ryousuke raised an eyebrow. "Sometime in elementary school. The other boys were teasing him about his eyes and how they made him look like a girl. Why?"

Eijun smiled and said, "Harucchi looks better with shorter bangs." Ryousuke picked up his brother and the rest of the regulars saw what he meant. Haruichi's bangs were cut short above his eyes in the middle, gradually getting longer as they got to the sides, framing his face and showing off his big blue eyes.

Seeing all the stares he was getting, tears started welling up in the toddlers' eyes again, his bottom lip quivering even more. Something about the big, watery blue eyes made the regulars' hearts clench.

"Hey," Ryousuke said softly, making his brother look at him. He smiled and wiped his thumb under his brothers' eye. "No more crying, alright? Nobody's going to hurt you. I need you to be a big boy for me, alright? And big boys don't cry. Can you do that for me?" Haruichi sniffled and rubbed his eye, nodding. "That's better." Ryousuke stroked the wet pink hair before setting Haruichi down. "Now I need you to go and wait in the tub for me, alright? I promise nobody's going to hurt you, and I'll be right here."

Haruichi looked at the tub and back to his brother, who nodded and made a small shooing gesture, before looking back at the tub. Hands in front of his mouth, the toddler inched his way forward, continuously looking back at his brother as to make sure he was still there.

None of the regulars moved, not wanting to scare the boy. Ryousuke chuckled at the slow progress as he started washing himself. Haruichi was shaking by the time he got to the edge of the tub. Chris looked down at the boy, smiling softly when he saw the tub was much taller than he was.

Slowly reaching out a hand, he let it hang near the three year old, but not close enough to touch. Haruichi stared at the hand for a while before looking up at Chris and back down at the hand. He reached out and touched it quickly before withdrawing. When Chris didn't move, the toddler grabbed on and allowed Chris to pull him up and set him in the water.

Haruichi didn't let go of the third years' hand, as his feet didn't touch the bottom. Kuramochi grinned and slowly made his way over. He crouched so he was eyelevel with the child and smiled. "Hi," He said. "My name's Kuramochi Youichi. What's yours?" Haruichi turned to his brother before looking back at the second year. His lips trembled but he didn't say anything. "Well then, can I guess?" Haruichi nodded.

Kuramochi pretended to think really hard before he smiled and asked, "Is it…Aoki?" Haruichi's lips twitched in a smile and he shook his head. "Hmm…then…Nemo?" This time the toddler giggled a little and shook his head again. Kuramochi squeezed his eyes shut and pretended to concentrate really hard before snapping his eyes open and smiling widely. "I've got it! It's Youichi!" Haruichi laughed some more and shook his head again.

"No?" He pretended to be surprised. "I thought that was it for sure. Help me out here," He said, turning to the others and winking.

Ryousuke chuckled as he listened to the guessing game go on for a while. Stepping into the tub, he pulled his brother onto his lap and said, "I don't think they're going to get it Haru-chan. Why don't you go ahead and tell them?"

Haruichi giggled and nodded. "Haruichi!" He said happily. The rest of the regulars smiled.

Kuramochi smacked his forehead lightly. "Why didn't I think of that!" He held out his hand to the toddler and said, "It's nice to meet you, Haruichi." Ryousuke guided his brothers' hand into the second years' and watched the two shake hands. The rest of the regulars took the hint and went over to introduce themselves.

After Haruichi shook the last regulars' hand, he looked at his own and scrunched up his nose. "Nii-tan," He whined, showing it to his brother, "Puny."

Ryousuke smiled. "It's pruney," He corrected, "And that means it's time to get out." Haruichi nodded and held his arms toward his brother who obliged and picked him up, carrying him out of the bath and into the changing room.

He wrapped his baby brother in a towel and sat him on a bench while he and the others' dried off and changed. When he was finished, he took another towel and gently started rubbing the toddlers' hair dry, careful not to be too rough.

"Takashima-sensei must have left this while we were in there," Jun said, holding up a small bag. He reached in and pulled out a pair of soft, light blue pajama pants and a white shirt. Ryousuke nodded and took the bag, helping Haruichi change before picking him up again.

"Nii-tan," The toddler said as they exited the changing room. He waited until his older brother looked at him before he said, "Hungry."

"We're going to get food now," Ryousuke said, bouncing his brother lightly and getting a small giggle.

"Can I hold him?" Eijun asked as they walked to the dining room. "Harucchi's so cute and tiny."

Ryousuke raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Careful," He warned as he handed his brother over. "He's extremely ticklish." Haruichi squirmed a bit in Eijun's grasp but eventually wrapped his arms around the pitchers' neck.

Eijun smiled happily. "He's so small and warm. Almost like a teddy bear." Furuya frowned and gently grabbed Haruichi under the arm, easily lifting him out of Eijun's grasp. He ignored the fuming pitcher and shifted his hold on the toddler to get a better grip so as not to drop him. He smiled a little when Haruichi giggled after being poked in the stomach on accident.

Ryousuke watched as Eijun complained about not getting a long enough turn while the rest of the regulars took their own turns holding him. Only when they reached the dining hall did the older Kominato take his brother back. Using one arm to hold his brother, he used the other to pick up a tray and carry it to the table.

"Stay here," He said, setting his brother down on the bench and chuckling when the child's eyes' didn't even reach the top of the table, "I'll be right back." Haruichi nodded and watched the rest of the regulars find places to sit with their own food.

When Ryousuke came back, he not only had a tray of food for his brother, but also two thick books tucked under his left arm. He set the tray down next to his before setting the books on the bench and lifting the toddler, setting him on top. Haruichi giggled now that he could see over the table and swung his legs which weren't even close to touching the ground.

Sitting next to his brother, he took a napkin and tucked it into the front of the three year olds' shirt, remembering all too well how messy his brother could be when eating at this age. He handed Haruichi a spoon he's gotten from the cooks and said, "Try not to make a big mess, alright?"

Haruichi smiled and nodded, scooping up some of his rice. Ryousuke sighed with a small smile when he saw half of it drop straight onto the toddlers' lap and another portion wind up sticking to his face. Shaking his head, he left his brother to eat while he began his own meal.

"He's quite the messy eater," Chris said from his spot nearby.

The older Kominato nodded. "At least he's old enough to not play in his food. Then it winds up everywhere."

"I know he's only been like this for a little while," Miyuki said, "But he's not nearly as shy or reserved at this age. Did something happen?"

"I told you," Ryousuke said, pausing to wipe Haruichi's face with a clean napkin, "He was teased a lot during elementary school. I did what I could, but there was no way for me to be next to him every second of every day."

"That's kind of sad," Kuramochi said, ignoring how Eijun was bawling and crying 'poor Harucchi' in the background. "Makes me wonder what he'd be like now if that hadn't happened."

"Well," Ryousuke said, "For one, he wouldn't be playing baseball. I don't think I would be either." He chuckled as nearly every jaw hit the ground.

"How the h-" Jun grimaced, "How does teasing relate to the two of you playing baseball?"

"Because the only reason we even went to the game that got us interested was because our father wanted to cheer Haruichi up after a particularly bad day at school. Had he not done that, I doubt we would have gone out of our way to watch a game."

"So what would you have done instead?" Tetsu asked.

"Kendo," The third year answered easily, enjoying the skeptical looks. "That or some form of martial arts."

"Why those in particular?" The captain continued.

"Our grandfather runs a dojo. He'd been trying to get us to learn practically since the day we were born. I think it was to make up for the fact our father hadn't been even remotely interested. He wasn't too happy when we chose baseball though."

"Sounds rough," Kuramochi said, pushing his try forward and leaning on the table, "How'd you get him to agree then? Seems to me he wouldn't just agree like that."

"True," Ryousuke said. He took the spoon from Haruichi, seeing that he was done, and proceeded to clean the food from his face and hands as he continued. "When we first told him, he outright refused. We kept asking and he kept refusing until Haruichi finally made a deal with him. He'd keep practicing with him at the dojo but he'd still get to play baseball in his free time and join the team at school.

"While our grandfather wasn't too happy still, he agreed. It's also the reason Haruichi uses the bat he does, since it resembles the kendo sword." He tucked a few stray hairs behind his brothers' ear, smiling when he yawned and started rubbing his eye. "Tired?" He asked. The toddler nodded and raised his arms, wanting to be picked up. Ryousuke complied and settled his brother on his lap, running his fingers through the soft pink hair.

"So does that mean your grandfather just let him come to this school?" Jun asked.

Ryousuke chuckled. "Haruichi didn't tell him until he was already on the train. Our grandfather nearly died of a heart attack when he heard and demanded he come home. He's still trying to convince Haruichi that he should go back. The only reason he hasn't come over and dragged him back was because Haruichi promised to join a local dojo."

"And did he?" Miyuki asked.

Ryousuke nodded. "He goes every weekend and after practice on Tuesday and Thursday." The regulars sat in silence for a while before Eijun spoke up.

"There's a lot I don't know about Harucchi," He said, staring at the sleeping child. His face fell and he said, "I call him my friend but I don't know anything about him. I never asked."

"He's not a very social person," Chris said, "I doubt he ever would have told anyone."

Eijun nodded and looked at Ryousuke. "Do you think when Harucchi turns back to normal he'll let me go to one of his practices?"

The third year chuckled. "He'll probably turn red and start stammering out denials while asking how you know before attempting to change the subject. Then he'll get mad at me for telling you. So no, I don't think he'll let you go watch." He raised an eyebrow at the kicked puppy look and said, "That doesn't mean you can't sneak in and watch."

Jun yawned and stood up. "I'll get the trays," He muttered, taking not only his tray but each of the Kominato brothers' as well. Ryousuke smiled and nodded in thanks before standing up, careful not to wake Haruichi.

He headed to his room and found more bags left near his bed and a stuffed elephant on top. Smiling, he laid his brother on the bed, putting the elephant next to him and tucking him in. When he was sure his brother was situated, he quietly went through the bags to see what else Takashima-sensei had gotten.

Most of the outfits consisted of shorts or pants and tee-shirts along with socks and a pair of tennis shoes. They were all in simple colors, no real patterns on anything.

After putting them away and laying out a pair for tomorrow, he quickly finished his homework before crawling into bed next to his brother. He pulled the toddler close and wrapped an arm around him before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

* * *

**So there you go.**


End file.
